Having an Instagram account is a key component needed for success in today’s world. Bloggers, businesses, freelancers, and anyone else possessing a brand should all have an Instagram account.

If you need some tips on how to use Instagram to benefit you, you can use the ones found in this post to successfully run your Instagram account.

Creating an Online Presence is Necessary for Success

Creating a successful online social media presence takes a lot of hard work, especially if you are running it by yourself. You have to put on a lot of hats to make sure that you stay relevant online. A lot of online influencers start out by being the video editor, cameraman, marketing associate, and face of their own brand.

Instagram uses the visual nature of social media to entice people to increase their presence and build a solid follower base to help them succeed at what they do.

While there are over 800 million active accounts on the platform, below are a few things you can do to help you stand out among the crowd and be successful on Instagram. Read More

Not only will they help you share your posts with their audiences, but they will help you out in other ways, too.

A perfect example of this happened in the summer (a few months ago, in 2018) after I took almost three months off, almost ran out of money, and had one of my client-friends come to my rescue.

Why I Ran Out of Money

I had been living off my savings for the month of June, July, and August.

I decided to take the summer off (for me, summer is July and August, as I live in Canada, in a city where it is winter for most of the year).

I made this decision at the beginning of June, when I got out of the hospital. I went to the emergency room on May 29th, 2018, because I was having trouble breathing. This event actually marked my second near-death experience. (I nearly died in August 2012, when my appendix burst.)

The cause of my shortness of breath was due to having blood clots in my lungs. I was in the hospital from May 29th until June 4th. I was put on blood thinners and had many follow-up appointments with my doctors.

I was also put on a new medication on June 19th. Then I contracted a stomach bug on June 26th. I had an upset stomach and a sore back for two weeks. I thought these were side effects of my new medication, so I spoke to my doctor and he advised me to stop taking it.

When I didn’t get better right away, I knew it was something else that was making me sick. It wasn’t until the second week of July that I really started feeling good again.

Because I was feeling so great, I decided to start taking that new medication again, which I did, on August 1st, after consulting with my doctor. For the most part, I am okay now, and my body has adjusted to the new medication, which is actually a cholesterol pill.

I still had to keep up with my appointments to get my blood checked because of the blood thinners I am on. In fact, I am still being monitored to this day, and will be for months to come.

When August rolled around, however, I noticed that my bank account balances were dwindling. I started to panic. I have not been broke for a very long time (years, actually) and I didn’t want to be broke again! I was down to my last $150 and knew I needed at least three times that amount to make it through the month!

I also have not had to make a budget in a very long time, either. I simply pay my bills when they come in, buy groceries whenever I need them, and go out when I feel like it, without having to worry about money, because there’s always money in the bank!

I have worked very hard for this freedom, and I have enjoyed it for years.

But, when I got sick and decided to take the summer off, I didn’t take the time to see if I could actually afford it. I did not draw up a budget. I simply thought my funds would last me until September, which is when I had my next editing gig booked for!

When I almost ran out of money, I didn’t know what to do.

In the past, when I was a prostitute, anytime I needed money, I would simply go out and stand on the street and sell myself. Those days are long gone. I stopped doing that years ago! (FYI, I’m much happier now, and most of my happiness stems from using positive affirmations.)

To elaborate on this, I have invited Nick Galov from Hosting Tribunal to share some really important information with you.

Take it away, Nick!

How can you improve customer engagement?

This is one question that troubles bloggers and online marketers the most – and perhaps understandably so.

Customer engagement is crucial to success for any blog site or e-store, but improving it is one tough task. This is mainly because there are several factors that can affect customer engagement, and it is often easy to miss the one that influences it most.

While content quality, site design, and interactive media all help improve your blog’s or online store’s appeal (and you should pay attention to them), they don’t affect customer engagement as much as site speed. When you think of it, this is hardly surprising.

Today’s online users have little patience, and if there’s one thing they want more than anything else, it is access to information quickly. If a site is slow to load, they will quickly jump to another site that can provide them the necessary information, even if the former has better content or site design.

Statistics, too, point in this direction. Did you know that Hosting Tribunal reports some stupefying statistics?

1: The bounce rate probability jumps by 106% if your page load time increases from 1 second to 6 seconds

2: The bounce rate probability soars by a whopping 123% if page load time is 10 seconds

Slow Site Speed Affects Bounce Rates

Bounce rate refers to the percentage of your total site visitors who leave your site after viewing the first page for a few seconds before navigating away. Needless to say, if a high percentage of your visitors are choosing to not spend much time on your site, you’ll struggle to improve customer engagement.

And it is not only viewers who don’t like slow sites. Google, too, might have an aversion to snail-paced websites. While slow speed might not affect your search results page ranking directly, it can still reduce the efficacy of your SEO efforts.

The impact of slow speed is even more on online stores. Research shows 79% of online shoppers don’t want to buy from a site again if the site’s performance was below their expectations.

How else does site speed affect e-commerce?

Have a look at this interesting infographic which contains loads of information regarding how page load time impacts e-commerce. Read More

To make money online, there are 3 articles you should have on your website.

Are you making the most of your writer website or your blog? Do you even have your own site?

For many writers and bloggers, setting up a website is crucial. It allows you to brand your business, display your portfolio, and gives you a place to write that is all your own.

However, unlike social media pages (which help with the above), websites incur costs. The natural thing to do is attempt to generate revenue through your website. After all, if you can break even or (preferably) turn a profit, your website truly becomes an asset rather than a liability.

However, to many, this can cause a conflict. After all, you want to offer genuine value to your audience, but you need revenue. So, how do you not only provide great content for your readers but also turn some revenue without losing credibility?

Today, I’ve invited Dave Chesson to share with you three types of posts which have been proven to generate revenue for writer websites while also providing genuine value to audiences. He will even include examples so you can put these to work on your own site.

1: Product Reviews

One of the keys to successful revenue-generating blog posts is getting the right mixture of enthusiasm and likeability. One of the best ways to achieve this mix is by taking the time to review and share the products you truly use and care about.

When you review a product you genuinely use and love, your enthusiasm will be tangible. It will be clear from the level of knowledge you provide that you are a genuine fan of the product.

Product Review Posts – Best Practices

Some of the best practice tips to keep in mind when putting together a product review post include:

– Be sure to take pictures and even videos of you using the product. This not only shows that you genuinely own and use the product, but it also conveys your personality more than simply writing about it.

– Make sure that the products and services you review have an affiliate program available. Be sure to register for this in advance of putting your review together.

– Check out the other reviews that are ranking on Google for the same product you are looking at. Make sure your own review offers something extra.

– Be honest about the product. Highlight its flaws as well as its advantages. This adds credibility to your review and shows it’s a genuine analysis rather than a fluff piece.

Now that you know some of the best practice tips for putting together a review for your website, let’s consider some of the types of products you might wish to review.

– Software relevant to your audience. As a writer, this could include writing software, editing software, or anything else you think your audience might enjoy and find useful. Examples could include notebooks, pens, or anything else writers need to get by.

– Off-topic products. These might not relate directly to writing, but might be useful for writers, such as a special brand of coffee.

Basically, anything that you love, and that you think your audience might as well, is the perfect choice for a review post.

Product Review Posts – Examples & Lessons

Now that you know how to go about creating a review post, and the type of products you might review, let’s check out some examples from real websites for the final piece of the inspiration puzzle.

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